The demographics of Poland include population density, ethnicity, education level, the health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population.

As of 31 December 2024, the population of Poland was 37,489,000, while the usually resident population was 36,497,495. The population has exhibited a negative growth rate of −0.42% per year. The population density was 119 people per square kilometer. The proportion of the population residing in urban areas was 59%, a figure that has been declining as a consequence of suburbanization. The sex ratio was 107 women per 100 men, 112 per 100 in urban areas, and 101 per 100 in rural areas. The median age was over 43 years (nearly 42 years for males and 45 years for females).

According to the 2021 census by the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS), as of March 31, 2021, Poland had an official population of 38,036,118, a decrease of 0.9% since the 2011 census, and a usually resident population of 37,019,327, a 2.7% decrease since the 2011 census. The difference between official and usually resident population comes from two different methodologies used by GUS for population counts. In addition, Poland is home to a large number of foreigners, most of whom are not counted towards the official population of the country. As of the 2021 census, there were 1,433,779 of them in Poland.

Poland's population has been growing quickly after World War II, during which the country lost millions of citizens. Population passed 38 million in the late 1980s and has since then stagnated within the 38.0-38.6 million range until the 2020s where the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the baby boom generation starting to die out and a baby bust started to overlap.

In 2018, the average life expectancy was 77.9 years; 74.1 for men and 82 for women. Population distribution is uneven, with densely populated south, moderately populated center and south-east and scarcely populated north.

Ethnically, Poland used to be one of the most multi-ethnic countries in Europe before World War II. It hosted the largest Jewish community in Europe, with Warsaw being the largest concentration of Jews in the world besides New York City. In the eastern parts of the country, Ukrainians and Belarusians often outnumbered Poles, while in the west there were large German communities. After the war, Poland became an ethnically homogeneous country. However, in the last decade Poland witnessed a mass-scale migration to the country, mostly from neighboring Ukraine and Belarus and increasingly from Central, South Asia and the Middle East.

In connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, as part of the Russo-Ukrainian War, by 2 August 2022, more than 10.4 million Ukrainian refugees left the territory of Ukraine, moving to the countries closest to the west of Ukraine, of which more than 5.1 million people fled to neighboring Poland initially. As of September 2023, 958,120 Ukrainian refugees continue to reside in Poland. They are also not counted towards official or usually resident population.

History

For many centuries, until the end of World War II in 1945, the population of Poland included many significant ethnic minorities.

Note: Crude migration change (per 1000) is a trend analysis, an extrapolation based average population change (current year minus previous) minus natural change of the current year (see table vital statistics). As average population is an estimate of the population in the middle of the year and not end of the year.

1945–1989 The population of Poland decreased from more than 35 million in 1939 to less than 24 million in 1946. Of that, around 6 million were killed during the Holocaust, Porajmos, and German and Soviet occupations, while the remaining decline can be mostly attributed to altered borders and associated population expulsions of Germans and Ukrainians and resettlement of Poles. As a result, Poland became one of the most ethnically homogeneous areas in Europe.

Poland's population has been rising consistently in the 1945-1989 period, to 37.96 million in 1989. This growth has been fully fueled by positive natural change (more births than deaths), as net international migration was negative for Poland every year between 1966 and 1989, even despite the socialist government's restrictions on leaving the country for any reason. 578,405 people emigrated from Poland between 1966 and 1989, with the main destination countries being Germany (388,137) and United States (50,453).

1.5 million Poles were deported from Eastern Poland by the Soviet Union in 1940-41 to the interior of the country, before Operation Barborossa forced the USSR to declare a general amnesty of Poles in labour camps. 1.5 million were then deported after the war to the Polish People's Republic.

1990–present Since 1990, Poland's population stagnated at 38.0-38.6 million, with the median age rising due to low birth rates. Official population statistics are a point of debate in Poland, though, with many academics criticizing the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS) for failing to adapt to successfully capture internal and international migration in particular. Already the 2002 census revealed Poland had 402,000 residents less than expected, and subsequent censuses reflected neither the mass emigration of Poles after Poland's admission to the European Union in 2004, nor the mass immigration to Poland since 2014.

Population

Structure of the population

Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 18 651 441 19 882 348 38 533 789 100 0–4 1 058 874 1 005 069 2 063 943 5.36 5–9 945 643 897 723 1 843 366 4.78 10–14 974 509 925 506 1 900 015 4.93 15–19 1 158 367 1 108 267 2 266 634 5.88 20–24 1 394 761 1 341 393 2 736 154 7.10 25–29 1 623 072 1 575 546 3 198 618 8.30 30–34 1 602 736 1 558 622 3 161 358 8.20 35–39 1 470 751 1 432 822 2 903 573 7.54 40–44 1 231 083 1 209 751 2 440 834 6.33 45–49 1 196 548 1 192 952 2 389 500 6.20 50–54 1 369 258 1 414 996 2 784 254 7.23 55–59 1 404 141 1 522 140 2 926 281 7.59 60–64 1 163 935 1 350 684 2 514 619 6.53 65–69 675 573 861 584 1 537 157 3.99 70–74 529 739 776 722 1 306 461 3.39 75–79 424 407 720 249 1 144 656 2.97 80–84 278 428 566 126 844 554 2.19 85–89 115 213 311 388 426 601 1.11 90–94 28 565 91 223 119 788 0.31 95–99 4614 18 265 22 879 0.06 100+ 224 1320 1544 <0.01Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% 0–14 2 979 026 2 828 298 5 807 324 15.07 15–64 13 615 652 13 707 173 27 322 825 70.91 65+ 2 056 763 3 346 877 5 403 640 14.02

Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 18 607 417 19 847 159 38 454 576 100 0–4 982 639 928 662 1 911 301 4.97 5–9 1 047 830 996 205 2 044 035 5.32 10–14 924 671 877 780 1 802 451 4.69 15–19 1 028 884 979 585 2 008 469 5.22 20–24 1 257 703 1 209 498 2 467 201 6.42 25–29 1 464 438 1 417 040 2 881 478 7.49 30–34 1 647 147 1 602 930 3 250 077 8.45 35–39 1 561 396 1 522 202 3 083 598 8.02 40–44 1 354 899 1 329 476 2 684 375 6.98 45–49 1 166 358 1 160 878 2 327 236 6.05 50–54 1 211 294 1 238 398 2 449 692 6.37 55–59 1 386 303 1 489 816 2 876 119 7.48 60–64 1 256 035 1 443 985 2 700 020 7.02 65–69 917 893 1 147 725 2 065 618 5.37 70–74 501 311 716 224 1 217 535 3.17 75–79 426 059 715 629 1 141 688 2.97 80–84 287 908 573 415 861 323 2.24 85+ 184 649 497 711 682 360 1.77Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% 0–14 2 955 140 2 802 647 5 757 787 14.97 15–64 13 334 457 13 393 808 26 728 265 69.51 65+ 2 317 820 3 650 704 5 968 524 15.52

Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 18 307 488 19 532 513 37 840 001 100 0–4 978 526 926 796 1 905 322 5.04 5–9 979 042 925 737 1 904 779 5.03 10–14 1 049 403 997 556 2 046 959 5.41 15–19 911 890 866 575 1 778 465 4.70 20–24 1 000 405 957 358 1 957 763 5.17 25–29 1 221 584 1 177 960 2 399 544 6.34 30–34 1 420 368 1 367 645 2 788 013 7.37 35–39 1 594 620 1 543 389 3 138 009 8.29 40–44 1 515 234 1 482 301 2 997 535 7.92 45–49 1 328 852 1 316 404 2 645 256 6.99 50–54 1 116 244 1 130 951 2 247 195 5.94 55–59 1 115 823 1 176 530 2 292 353 6.06 60–64 1 246 589 1 407 097 2 653 686 7.01 65–69 1 114 311 1 374 477 2 488 788 6.58 70–74 806 003 1 102 945 1 908 948 5.04 75–79 388 818 621 315 1 010 133 2.67 80–84 291 685 571 202 862 887 2.28 85–89 159 279 376 980 536 259 1.42 90–94 56 278 164 806 221 084 0.58 95–99 10 821 38 970 49 791 0.13 100+ 1 713 5 519 7 232 0.02Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% 0–14 3 006 971 2 850 089 5 857 060 15.48 15–64 12 471 609 12 426 210 24 897 819 65.80 65+ 2 828 908 4 256 214 7 085 122 18.72

Population density and distribution

With an estimated usually resident population of 37 million, Poland is the 5th most-populous country in the European Union and 7th or 8th most-populous one in Europe (depending on how many people live in Ukraine, to which there are various estimates).

Depending on whether one uses the official population or usually resident population as a base, population density of Poland was 122 or 118.7 people per square kilometer (315.9 or 307.4 people per square mile) as of the 2021 census.

Population distribution is unequal. The south, particularly the area along the A4 highway between Gliwice and Rzeszów, is densely populated with over 250 people per square kilometer, while population density drops below 50 people per square kilometer in much of the north of the country. Silesian voivodeship is the densest, at over 350 people per square kilometer.

Urban areas Poland is relatively rural for a country of its population and economic development. As of the 2021 census, 59.8% of total population lived in cities and town, a percentage well below European average. Poland has historically been a rural and agricultural country and while cities started rapidly growing in neighboring countries in the second half of the 19th century, many Polish cities were artificially limited in growth by the partitioners due to military reasons. After regaining independence in 1918, Polish authorities have started investment in urbanizing the country but it was quickly interrupted by World War II. Therefore, Poland has not started fully urbanizing until after the war.

Urbanization rate has also been declining, at an annual rate of -0.25% between 2015 and 2020 due to suburbanization. In Poland, many suburbs are officially rural areas despite their resemblance to a town or even a city neighborhood, such as the Poznań suburb of Koziegłowy.

In the Eurostat's urban-rural typology, Poland's urbanization rate is slightly higher, though still below the European average. Eurostat estimates 61.2% of Poland's population to live in urban clusters (including 28.9% in dense urban centers), compared to the 70.4% average across the EU.

Metropolitan areas

There is no one official delimitation of metropolitan areas in Poland, and various institutions use different definitions. However, both central institutions and academics are in agreement that the following are the major metropolitan areas of Poland:

Warsaw - the capital and largest city of Poland, with 1.9 million official residents in city proper and 2.7-3.1 million in the metropolitan area. Warsaw is the largest economy in Poland, with the Warsaw Stock Exchange, most major financial institutions, and CEE headquarters of international companies. Warsaw is also an important educational center, with the University of Warsaw, Warsaw School of Economics and Polish Academy of Sciences located there. Warsaw metropolitan area has been growing rapidly in recent decades, eclipsing the previously larger Katowice metropolitan area around 2015.